Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon
by thisissupposedtobeblank
Summary: Longini - god-slaying tools with untold potential. It's not that hard to imagine why owners of these Sacred Gears often end up going a little battle-crazy. Maybe that was why there were no Longinus wielders in all the ranks of the devils. Well, until a crimson-haired princess gets a little greedy, that is. Too bad for Rias, she unlocked someone with a bit more authority than her.
1. Life 0: A Dragon Should Never Be Wakened

"Will you die for me?"

And with those last words, Hyoudou Issei found himself impaled with a spear of what looked like light in his gut.

[Well, looks like I get a new partner. Probably a good thing - this one was too much of a perverted idiot.]

A very confused look crossed over the boy's face. His girlfriend - at least, that's what he had presumed; killing him made it clear that that wasn't true at all - must have seen it, because she went on to explain something about Sacred Gears or whatever before taking off on those black wings she had sprouted on him, but he wasn't paying much attention to her. No, there was something about that deep voice… it almost sounded like it came from within him.

Those thoughts soon faded as the prospect of his imminent death settled on him. Wait! He didn't want to die! He hadn't even fondled any boobs yet!

[Of course your final thoughts would be on breasts.]

Ignoring the voice, the boy scrambled around dazedly due to the loss of blood, hoping for anything, _anything_ , to save him. He checked in his pockets, finding only that weird leaflet with the magic circle. " _Your dream will be granted!"_

"To live… I want … to live…to see… oppai..."

[Hoh? Summoning a devil, huh?]

Just as that mysterious voice whispered that, a figure approached that fallen young man, but Issei couldn't see who it was. There was something red… like the color of his own blood… The figure whispered something, but consciousness was already leaving the boy. He felt he heard laughter - was it from the red someone, or from inside him? Fighting for one last breath, a light feminine voice made its way through: "... you will live for me."

Living for such a perfect voice… Issei smiled. He could probably do that.

[No, you won't.]

There was that deep voice again. His assurance seemed scary… what was about to happen?

[Heh, this devil must be the type to act first and consider later. Foolish girl. But maybe I'll thank her later…]

Wait, the voice would thank her later? Sure, Issei was planning on doing that anyway, but the way that voice said it sounded ominous, as if that voice was grateful to the young man's savior for some… darker reason. That wasn't good! Issei wasn't going to let that deep voice do anything to the perfect voice that promised him life!

[Heh, showing some fight at the very end? Too bad it's worthless, brat, because you perverted ass is going to pass on to whatever afterlife awaits you. You'll move on… but I will stay here, in your body.] The deep voice chuckled darkly, though Issei felt he heard a large measure of joy mixed with it. [Thank you, partner. If it hadn't been for your own idiotic perversion, I probably wouldn't have had this chance. As a farewell gift, I'll even give you my name: Ddraig, the Red Dragon Emperor. I'd say something like 'say hello to the devil for me,' but seeing as one just let me escape from this hellhole of a left arm, well….]

Dragon? Devil? What was with those fantasy-like creatures that belonged in novels and anime? There were still so many questions he needed answered, but… what was that? A light? Seriously, death was something that cliche? Issei was almost disappointed. But, well, if it led to some paradise filled with oppai, then maybe it was alright…

And with those final thoughts, Hyoudou Issei entered the light, never to take a breath ever again.

* * *

Once upon a time a girl used her impossible boobs (henceforth referred to as Impossiboobs) to get the loyalty of an unrepentant pervert with an incredible power. They fought in many battles and they fell in love, proving that the girl was just as perverted as he was. And thus the unrepentant pervert and his beloved Impossiboobs lived happily ever after… along with a variety of other girls, most of which would have avoided the idiot in real life as if he were the plague.

As you could probably presume, that will not happen in this story. No, Hyoudou Issei, the lech who singlehandedly destroyed the confidence of not one, but two Heavenly Dragons, yet still was able to get into the pants of any girl he wished (if he actually had a spine) will no longer appear. He is dead and buried… or is he? Buried, that is, because he is dead. Passed on. Kicked the bucket. There are a number of ways to say he's gone, and I'll leave you to find another colloquialism that you particularly enjoy.

I will shamelessly admit that I stole this title from Harry Potter. No, the Wizarding World in all its wonder will not appear in this story. _Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon_ will not be a crossover, but considering a certain Longinus which held a dragon that stirred enough trouble to get all three factions to work together is broken…

Honestly, I'm not even sure how often this story will come out. It's just a small idea that popped into my head, probably influenced a bit by _Rise of the Red Dragon Emperor_ by DragonKingNatsu. This is just a prologue. Give a few reviews if you'd like.

Blank


	2. Life 1: A Dragon Leaves a Big Impression

Alarm clocks are usually not abnormal. Some people use an old-fashioned clock that clanks obnoxiously against two bells. Others use electric ones that continue to beep. Music is also a popular choice, as is ringtones from cellphones.

But for some … _unique_ people, it takes an… _unorthodox_ method for them to rise from bed.

One such person was Hyoudou Issei.

[ _WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP, OR I'M GOING TO K~KISS YOU!_ ]

Yes, only a true lecher would ever consider buying an alarm clock with pre-programmed messages from certain female anime personalities, switching daily.

This day's voice was a tsundere, though on a scale of one to ten, with one being tsun and ten being dere, it could be graded out as a solid eight. Frankly, it had been one of Hyoudou-san's favorites.

[ _WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP, OR I'M GOING TO K~KISS Y~_ ] CRUNCH!

Another odd thing about alarm clocks: they are inexplicably fragile, as seen often on television (though that is, like almost all of entertainment, exaggerated to the extreme). That naturally includes those sold at hobby shops for no reason other than to give desperate teenage boys with no girlfriends a woody in the morning. In the end, the quality for such horrible inventions was never very high to begin with.

"Damn pervert, wanting to wake up with that alarm clock," muttered a tired boy who looked around seventeen. His brown hair shot out in all directions, which would seem natural, given he had just woken up. Unfortunately, that was how his hair usually looked, not that he cared - it wasn't like he could ever tell the pervert girls actually like guys with good hai~

"Huh, that's odd. I can't hear any of that brat's thoughts."

By now the lech would have had some perverted fantasy floating up there in the organ that was supposed to be called a brain. It was more of a gutter, or a trash can, when it came to Hyoudou Issei. It had been a hard existence, being buried under years of lewd daydreams, but the entity known as Ddraig had been pushed to the back of his possessors' minds too many times to count - partially because the number of possessors was rather high in the first place.

Hey, when the average life expectancy of the wielder of the Boosted Gear was all of seventeen, it wasn't too hard to imagine a large number of Red Dragon Emperors.

Without much of a thought, the boy simply got out of his bed, stretched a bit, and then calmly and quietly made his way to his bedroom door, making sure not to trip over the torn and bloodied clothes that littered the ground…

Naturally, seeing one's own torn and bloody clothes lying on the ground would make anybody stop, most likely out of fear.

This boy, however, eyed them curiously, despite knowing full well that those were the clothes Hyoudou Issei wore on his date the previous night.

… Date?

In the space of a second, the boy found himself staring at his reflection in the bathroom mirror just down the hallway, taking in every detail of his face, his fingers memorizing each and every inch thereof. It… It was real! The normal face was as real as anything he had ever touched! The messy brown hair, the soft brown eyes… Everything was real! And everything… was his.

"Hahaha! It worked! It worked, dammit! I did it!"

A knock at the door shook the boy out of his sober revelry, but a slight scolding from the adult on the other side did nothing to contain his joy. Of course, no puny human could ever hope to stop a hysterical dragon, overwhelmed so much he had begun to weep tears of joy. No, this was his moment, his triumph, and he would celebrate, those ants be damned. After all, he'd been stuck in a Sacred Gear for centuries. This was the first time he'd experienced his own senses ever since that God of the Bible had deemed him "worthy" to become one of his godslaying tools. And Ddraig, the Heavenly Dragon and Red Dragon of Dominion, would celebrate his newfound freedom however he wished, that brat's parents be damned.

Then again, it was because of his gamble that those parents would never meet their son again. Perhaps he should feel a bit sorry?

… Nah. A dragon never regrets. When they start feeling down, they stop feeling down and be awesome instead.

True story.

Ignoring the cries of that brat's pathetic mother (because honestly, what type of woman let's their son become _that_?), Ddraig hopped in the shower, instinctively turning it to a temperature he found enjoyable. The dragon stood there, letting the water cascade onto him, enjoying the feeling of drops falling on his own body for the first time since that battle with the Three Factions. Considering that battle had been in a cold and depressing rainstorm that culminated in his soul being torn from his magnificently fearsome body and thrust into some kid's arm, this experience was far more pleasant.

Yes, despite only escaping less than twelve hours prior, the Red Dragon could say with certainty that being free was infinitely better than being stuck in a pervert's left arm. Some of the things that left hand experienced would provide Ddraig with nightmares for the rest of his life.

He was fairly certain he'd never see a tissue in a good light again.

Shaking his head clear of those horrible memories, the boy quickly started thinking of his current predicament, and not solely focusing on how awesome controlling his own body was. No, throughout his time as a dragon and as the soul behind one of the world's most terrifying weapons, there was a certain truth that kept on repeating itself: all big choices came with a price. Usually those choices involved taking on the White One, with the resultant cost being either his life, or his partners'. It was a natural cycle, and one that he really didn't want to experience ever again.

Fortunately, his coup d'etat over Hyoudou Issei's body ensured that he would never have to go through that again. Unfortunately, it meant that if he made a mistake, he would die, and this time, it would be permanent. There would be no Biblical God this time to force him to play a part of some crazy Greater Good scheme by becoming a weapon meant to kill insane deities. Nope, a fatal hit would kill him. And that would definitely suck.

Of course, had he been in his old dragon body in all its red glory, he wouldn't have been concerned about his potentially final demise at all. No, he probably would have laughed at the very idea of dying. Ddraig had been, in his own humble opinion, a complete and utter badass. How else could anyone describe someone who decided to take on not one, not two, but three factions at the same time? Not only that, but those three had been mortal enemies before they messed with him, and he forced them to team up. Angels and devils, as much of nemeses as cats and dogs were, put aside their differences to stop his rampage. He was practically the mediator between the concepts of good and evil. _That's_ how badass he was. And that didn't go into what he could actually do in his prime. Doubling strength over and over and over again, whenever he wanted to? That was way more awesome then simply depleting opponents of their power like the White One… though he had to admit, making that power his own was pretty badass in its own right - probably about half as badass as Ddraig was.

Yeah, there was strong, and then there was Heavenly Dragon strong. And not very many people could even imagine what it was like to be as strong as the Welsh Dragon.

Which might have been the reason why Ddraig was now freaking out about how weak he was. This… this was like the second worst nightmare he'd ever have in his life (the first being a left hand helping a pervert pleasure himself). If he was ever asked how powerful he was at that moment on a scale between one and ten, he'd comment that it was probably as close to zero as possible. Were all humans this weak?

"Heh, this body isn't human, now, is it?" The dragon recalled. "That devil last night reincarnated this body… so I'm a devil dragon. Huh, I wonder if this is what that Tannin shrimp feels like all the time."

This presented a new problem for the equivalent of a natural disaster: how should he deal with his "master"? While getting reincarnated allowed him to break away from that curse God placed on him, it meant he was forced into servitude as a price. So he went from one form of slavery to another. The dragon sighed in annoyance. Then again, there was definitely a brighter side to this predicament: this time, he was actually able to fight back. His new "master" was definitely going to have a headache after Ddraig was through whoever it was.

Now that he thought about, who the hell would even want to deal with a dragon? They were the most prideful creatures of all; Ddraig was pretty sure the only ones who would even consider becoming a devil had an ulterior motive. Even Tannin, the benchmark for all forms of devil dragons, had something with apples and saving a bunch of dragons, the kindhearted bastard. From what the Welsh Dragon had heard, the former Blaze Meteor Dragon had basically forced his "King" to reincarnate him so that he could continue to have those apples grown. If that so-called King hadn't been so easy-going and cared little for the Underworld, then Ddraig was sure it would have been a short partnership.

Unfortunately, that kind of King was one-of-a-kind. No, from what he had experienced in his own life and the lives of his possessors, most high-class devils barely acknowledged their own peerage. It was a major reason why many stray devils went rogue. Even the nicest of masters still liked to nitpick and control. And seeing how impossible it was to control a dragon, well, there was a reason why those monsters weren't too popular of a piece.

"Then there's the fact that I was originally a Longinus," muttered the boy, stepping out of the shower to dry himself off. "What kind of idiot would even try to control those Sacred Gears?"

Longinus - the name of the saint who slew the Son of God. His name was passed on to Sacred Gears with the potential to slay divine beings, a number which Ddraig didn't care to know. What did matter was the simple fact that a Longinus practically became a curse for all its wielders. Of the dozens of Sekiryuutei who had possessed Boosted Gear, only two ended up dying with their minds intact - and they still didn't die peacefully. And that Longinus was only considered Mid-tier (a fact which Ddraig was greatly offended by). The Welsh Dragon had often wondered if God had been in His right mind when He created those god-slaying tools, because it obviously was too much power for a mere human to hold.

"Really, does my 'Master' know how crazy those things are? There was a solid chance that his peerage would have been slaughtered if I hadn't taken control of the brat's body. I wonder who the idiot is…" One good thing about being a Sacred Gear was retaining all of the former possessors' memories. Figuring there might have been a clue given the previous night, Ddraig casually recalled the events, taking a slightly sadistic pleasure at the reminder of Hyoudou Issei's death. Perhaps he should also go and thank the Fallen Angel as well?

And then… there it was! Red! Was this fate? The Red Dragon, being saved by a red-haired devil? Sounded more like some pathetic introduction of a ridiculous love story like those anime his possessor had enjoyed. Still, that was all the hint he needed, because there was only one devil clan that was renown for their red hair: Gremory.

Huh, now that he thought about it, that name actually struck an accord with the brat's memories. Wasn't there a girl at the brat's school with that last name? Ddraig could only shake his head in astonishment as he gazed at himself in the mirror once again. Leave it to devils to leave a potential princess alone in the middle of nowhere during a so-called peace time. Their pride and arrogance were infamous, but this brought that notoriety to a whole new level.

Well, if he was going to meet his "Master," then he better get ready. How was he going to dress? Not in that pathetic uniform. It was best to leave a powerful impression, after all, and he wanted the Gremory to learn very quickly that an Emperor would never bow before a King.

* * *

It was lunchtime in Kuou Academy, and the entire school was abuzz with the typical gossip and rumor mill of high school hallways. Today's topic: a missing member of the Perverted Trio.

Some of the students simply saw it rationally and figured the boy was merely at home, ill. But this was high school, and realistic theories were few and far between. Instead, tall tales were the norm, and Kuou Academy was just like any other teenaged gathering. Rumors ranged from the boy going missing after choosing to stalk the wrong girl to the rather bizarre possibility of his lust being so great, it attracted the attention of a devil that took his soul...

Whatever the reason, to say that most of the school was ecstatic by the news of his absence would be a gross understatement, given the heartfelt relief and excitement in the air. There were even more than a few tears wept.

It wasn't that hard to understand why, naturally. Hyoudou Issei was a guy who professed his love for female body parts - particularly breasts - as loudly as a preacher calling for repentance before the Apocalypse. His reading material was less than moral, and his pastime of peeping on changing girls whenever possible would leave even the most easy girl somewhat flustered.

In a school that was dominated by testosterone, it would be frowned upon. In a school where the vast majority of students had two X chromosomes - and rather eye-catching at that - he was lucky to be alive.

Hyoudou Issei, despite his failure as a human being, proved to be an effective meatbag, if nothing else - a fact Motohama and Matsuda, the only two friends Hyoudou was even able to obtain at Kuou Academy, were normally quite grateful for. But with him missing, those two perverts had no one quite as sturdy to shield them from the hordes chasing them with torches and pitchforks. Unbeknownst to them, there was a hidden wager of how long the two would survive. The over/under was a week - only the biggest closet perverts and those who were willing to roll the die to get a big payday even opted for the over.

It was also pretty fun to watch the Perverted Baldy and the Perverted Glasses run for their lives. Vengeance was indeed incredibly sweet, especially to furious teenaged girls protecting themselves and their virtue from two boys who belonged in jail.

Be that as it may, the two were not the only ones who were flummoxed by Kuou Academy's Public Enemy Number One's disappearance. No, a certain buxom third-year with crimson hair claiming to have come from Northern Europe seemed quite worried, and she failed to hide her concern from everyone else. Considering the girl had a body that the perverted young man most likely fantasized way too much about, most of the girls in the school were understandably confused, but figured it was due to her natural older sister-like tendencies to take care of everyone in the school.

No one assumed that her concern was actually related to some of those more outlandish rumors of Hyoudou Issei's absence.

"Sona, I can't find him anywhere! When he didn't come to school, I sent Koneko over to see if he was still at home, and he wasn't there! I even forced her to do Senjutsu, and you know how much she hates the stuff."

The young woman listening to the redhead's worries shook her head at her friend's antics, which seemed awfully scornful considering her impression of a strict young lady with an air to absolute obedience to rules. The glasses only completed the look. "Rias, you know what you should have done. I don't know why you weren't there to warn him - all my servants were well aware of what was happening to them when they were reincarnated by the Evil Pieces."

"Yes, but none of your servants were on the cusp of death! They all had the ability to choose for themselves, and it wasn't like they got stabbed in the stomach by a spear of light!"

"That's because I recruited them before they were ever in danger. You knew the potential Hyoudou Issei had, and yet you waited until it was almost too late. If he ran, it's on you, Rias."

A frown formed on the beautiful redhead's face at her friend and rival's words. Despite her status as a devil, Rias Gremory was the type who cared for others, particularly those that she personally had reincarnated into her servants. It was a trait that was common within the Gremory Clan - they saw their peerages as members of a family, not merely as tools for pleasure and gain. Sure, that was an added benefit; she was a devil, after all, and devils reveled in the Deadly Sins. But her servants were like her little brothers and sisters, and she would do all she could to make sure they were just as happy as she was, enjoying a life of fulfilled desires.

Even if it was only a short time with her newest member - which amounted to all of a few minutes, but who was counting? - she had already come to see Issei-kun as a cute little brother, though she was certain he saw her as material for a date with Miss Palmer and her five friends. None of that mattered now, though. His disappearance was troubling, and she knew, even before Sona had bluntly stated the truth, that it was all on her.

But what was she supposed to do? Hyoudou Issei was the first devil of her peerage who wasn't abandoned when she offered him a new life. Akeno had been about to be killed by people who should have seen her as family, Koneko was to be executed for crimes that her runaway sister had committed, Yuuto had escaped a facility where everyone he knew and cared for had been systematically eliminated out of existence, and Gasper was forced to flee by the only person who cared for him and had sacrificed herself for his freedom. All of her beloved servants had had horrible lives that they had no control over, and every single one of them took her offer because there was literally nothing else available.

Issei-kun, however, had been in full control over his own existence, and he messed it up under his own power. Sure, he may have been brutally murdered by a monster, but his tragedy was his own doing, as harsh as it may sound. If he had thought more with his brain than his penis, he would have figured out that there was something off about a random beautiful girl asking to go on a date with a known enemy of all women. His circumstances were completely unfamiliar to the young high-level devil, and so she had no idea how she should have acted. Unlike her other cute little servants, Issei-kun had someone to fall back on in a loving mother and father, and so Rias determined that it was best for her pawn to come to terms with his new abilities himself, while she and her peerage would always be on the lookout. That way, they would be able to be there in time should anything actually happen.

Perhaps she should have figured that Issei-kun would make a break for it as soon as possible, given the horrors the boy had experienced the night before. The Grigori had done as she had suspected and wiped the memory of Amano Yuuma from anybody who had heard of her, so for a boy whose fatal evening was treated like it never existed, it would be quite the horrible hell. Anybody would have gone insane had that happened to them. Anybody would run away, eager to leave that horrible life behind.

Yes, Rias was definitely in the wrong here, and it had been quite childish to yell back at Sona. Sighing, she was about to apologize to her best friend for her outburst, had it not been for her Queen, her most loyal and longest-tenured servant, urgently whispering something in her ear. With a look that spoke of confusion and anger, she quietly asked if Sona could follow her before making her way to the old school building. Someone had infiltrated her base of operations, and she was ready to fight off whoever dared to enter.

What she didn't expect to see was a certain brown-haired young man, clad in a suit and a scarlet shirt, calmly sitting in her chair.

"Ah, if it isn't Gremory? Well, I promised that pervert I would thank you, so here I am," growled Hyoudou Issei with a grin. It was that grin that got to all four girls. It wasn't one of joy. Neither was it one of depravity - the lewd smile that the boy gave whenever he eyed an extraordinary specimen of the fairer gender, one which all four had experienced before. No, this grin was superior. It was as if Issei-kun had looked at the four powerful beings that had entered the room and knew they were beneath him.

Rias had never met one, and she couldn't explain why she thought it, but she was absolutely sure that that smile could only be the smile of a dragon.

* * *

Ddraig could only smile at the gazes of shock and awe as he sat in the very comfortable chair behind the expensive-looking desk. He'd been quite pleased to find such a throne in the Old School Building where, according to his old host's memories, the Gremory met with her Occult Research Club. The brat had evidently tried to get in, probably because of the redheaded beauty, but the application process had been incredibly strict. The dragon knew why immediately upon setting foot on the premicise: the building reeked of a variety of devils. A devil peerage masquerading as a detective club on anything supernatural - now that had made the dragon laugh.

Speaking of peerage, "So, Gremory, are these three your servants as well?" Ddraig sniffed the air a bit, trying to get a read on the other three women that had followed the girl who thought she was his master. "Let's see: one's got a Sacred Gear of her own, one's got some Fallen blood in her - that's certainly interesting - and … a full-blooded devil?" That… was definitely surprising. It may have not been unheard of, but devils, being the representations of the deadly sins that they were, were usually too prideful to even consider joining another's peerage. Either the servant was trying to redeem a clan's fallen honor, or… "I guess I should have figured Kuou's Onee-sama played for the other team, what with the whole former all-girls academy and what not."

The two high-class devils instantly darkened a violent red, though while the smaller one seemed mortified of the innuendo, the curvier one looked more abash than anything. And the way the non-glasses Japanese girl giggled rather lewdly made Ddraig privately wonder if his supposed "master" actually was intrigued by her own gender. A perverted princess… Perhaps she and the brat were practically made for each other? Shame that that was never going to happen.

Fortunately, the dragon's imposed moment of awkwardness was broken by the small glasses girl's attempts to clarify her and Gremory's relationship. "N~no! Th~that is most certainly not the case!" Ddraig mentally asked her to look at the redhead and see if her words were absolutely true or not. "Ahem. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sona Sitri. I am a devil, as you previously determined. I am heiress of the Sitri Clan as well as the Student Body President here at Kuou Academy. I also happen to be the best friend of your King, Rias Gremory."

The Red Dragon seriously wanted to comment on how she was practically opening a door, but chose to keep silent. There was a time for joking, and a time for being serious… and the new devil's words needed to be seriously considered. "Wait, you're the heiress of Sitri?"

"Yes," replied the small devil, pushing up her glasses arrogantly.

"Which means you're the sister of the Leviathan?"

"H~How~"

"And I'm guessing, since you're 'best friends,' that Rias Gremory is the sister of Lucifer? That would make you the heiress of the Gremory..." Ddraig gaped at the two, fully aware of how stupid he probably looked. But could he help it? There was no way the devils could be that idiotic, right? This was a cease fire, for crying out loud. It was the eye of the storm - a calm before the winds of chaos and war once again set the Three Factions at each other's throats. The smallest spark could easily set the whole Faction War off again, and not one, but _two_ devil princesses/sisters of the Maou were in open territory, unprotected? That was definitely a recipe for disaster. The Angels were too honorable to even consider it, but kidnapping two high-profile hostages would be right up the Grigori's alley, and these two teenaged sisters of the Maou were as ideal as it got. They weren't even powerful enough to fight off a hypothetical abduction.

And no one thought about this before hand?

… Not that Ddraig was going to say anything. If the devils were going to be idiots, then let them be idiots. If they couldn't learn from their mistakes, then let them pay the consequences.

Besides, in the eyes of the girls, there was something more pressing. "How do you know about Onee-sama?"

"And what do you know about Onii-sama?"

"For that matter, how do you know anything about the supernatural world at all?"

"And what are you wearing?"

That last question earned the girls a snort from the dragon. "You'd be shocked how much porn sells. I was able to buy this nice suit, along with another two, by getting rid of all that trash that brat had collected," calmly explained the dragon-in-a-boy's body, hands proudly clasping the collar of an expensive looking black suit, with a red button-up shirt underneath. He privately smirked when he saw eyes of admiration from a couple of the females. Hey, he was a dragon, and a dragon always had to look good.

But unfortunately, his new wardrobe failed to impress the smallest girl. "You do realize you are disobeying the dress code, Hyoudou-kun?" Kaichou deadpanned. Huh, so the Sitri heiress was quite the stickler for the rules, eh? Ddraig had basically known that through his first impression of her as well as some harsh memories from the brat (which he completely deserved and probably got away easy, considering what he was doing was definitely a crime half of the time). He chose to ignore all of the perverted fantasies his old possessor had - there was a hint of masochism behind them, and Ddraig would never consider someone so disgusting to be his possessor.

"Ara ara, Sona-sama, I believe we should give Hyoudou-kun some leeway. After all, it seems as if he's giving up his lecherous ways," giggled the girl with a small Fallen scent. Considering how close she was to the redhead and the fact that her Fallen scent was still prevalent despite her status as a devil, the dragon assumed she was his "master's" Queen. Glancing back at the brat's thoughts, Ddraig learned that this girl was Himejima Akeno, the other one of Kuou's Two Onee-samas and victim of many of the pervert's fantasies, many of which seemed to include the Gremory whom she always followed.

Why did the dragon suddenly feel like Himejima would seriously consider enacting some of those more radical imaginations?

Shaking away the chill that ran down his back (which he never would admit - dragons never got chills down their backs), Ddraig decided to get back on the main reason why he had shown up at Rias Gremory's homebase: to introduce himself. "Anyways, I believe we were talkin~"

Yet despite his attempt, it seemed like these teenage girls were not finished with the topic "Nonsense, Himejima-san. First of all, how do we know he isn't still a pervert? For all we know, Hyoudou-kun may be imagining us naked right now."

Everyone blinked at that. It was true - the testimony of the accused could never be taken as complete truth by his word alone, no matter how much Ddraig would love to deny it. That wasn't going to stop him from trying, of course. "If you'd just let me expl~"

"Secondly," continued the Sitri, "we should consider that perhaps Hyoudou-kun wisened up~" That made the boy perk up - perhaps the brat hadn't ruined his reputation beyond repair ye~ "~ and figured dressing nicely and acting calm would help him on his path to becoming a Harem King."

… Nope. The brat had seriously destroyed any chance Ddraig would have of getting on the good side of Kuou's Student Body President. The dragon privately hoped Issei was having his nuts burned off down in hell. It seemed like a suitable punishment for years of perversion. Or maybe that supposed Chinese torture of a prostitute and a very thin rod of glass…

"And finally, there is the potential that Hyoudou-kun's Sacred Gear is now influencing what he does, much like your bishop, Rias. Just what did you use to make him a devil?"

Huh, just what did the redhead give him? It must have been a decent amount, considering he had been a practical doomsday device.

"... Pawns…"

"What was that?"

"Eight … Pawns…"

Everyone was quiet at the amount the Gremory uttered. Eight. Eight Evil Pieces for a single servant. It was… it was unheard of. It was unprecedented.

It was… incredibly stupid.

"Eight? You gave Hyoudou Issei eight Pawns to reincarnate him?" Sitri asked incredulously. "You know I gave Saji-kun four, and that's been as taxing as I've ever experienced."

"Rias…" It seemed even her Queen had been unaware of just how stupid her King had been.

"You do realize you're only eighteen and don't have the power to contain an unknown that took eight of those pieces, right Rias?"

The redhead huffed. "I'm sure I can find _some_ way to control Issei-kun, Sona. After all, I have _something_ that I'm sure he'd appreciate very much," defended Gremory, smirking smugly as she crossed her arms under her impressive bust, lifting them up in, what Ddraig had to admit, justified arrogance.

It might have gotten the smaller girl a little angry out of envy, but the dragon could have cared less.

"Ah, so that's how you were going to keep the brat on a leash! I've gotta say, that probably would have worked on Hyoudou Issei."

That got the four girls attention. After all, the person they all knew as Hyoudou Issei (he was rather infamous) had just talked as if Hyoudou Issei wasn't there. Ddraig saw the second that the girls started adding up everything: the predatory glare at them early on, his knowledge of the supernatural, his casual brushoff of their super-powerful siblings, the lack of perversion.

He chuckled as comprehension dawned within their eyes, and then the fear. The primitive instinct to run away, to crawl underneath some rock and hide for all eternity. Oh, how he had missed seeing that fear in the eyes of anyone beneath him who dared to meet him in battle. Even the Old Maou hadn't been exempt from it - their arrogance had morphed rather quickly when it had become quite clear that a fight with a Heavenly Dragon was going to be their own personal hell.

That look was now mirrored on the faces of the four girls, along with a hint of fear on the unknown. Well, perhaps he should fix that.

"Allow me to introduce myself, devils. That fear that right now grips at your hearts will one day grip the hearts of all being. Even the greatest cower before my Greatness. God shuddered when he gazed upon me, and devils fled before my might. Bow before me, for I am the Heavenly Dragon of Domination. I laugh at the infinite. I grieve at the dream. I am the Sekiryuutei, and once more, the world will know the name of Ddraig."


	3. Life 2: Dragons are Always Selfish

Names are odd things.

Take, for instance, the name Bob. A three-letter palindrome, it is often short for Robert, though why is a question in and of itself. It's also a verb for moving up and down over and over again, as in "bobbing for apples." No offense to all the Bobs out there, but "Bob" might be the most unthreatening name of all things masculine.

But then there's the name Gog. Another three-letter palindrome, though it isn't the shortened form of any other name. Gog just so happens to be a name brought up once or twice in the Bible, often tag-teaming with Magog to bring up some apocalyptic event. Either one is a person and the other is a land, or both happen to be lands, but no matter what exactly they are, the fact that something bad happens whenever they're mentioned is noteworthy, making Gog a scary name.

Funny, isn't it? Bob versus Gog. Two names that even sound similar, but the context behind them make them as different as light and dark.

The same could be said of Hyoudou Issei and Ddraig. One was the Embodiment of Lust; the other, the Embodiment of Domination. The human had been incredibly weak; the dragon had been strong, but thanks to his possessor's lack of physical training besides an incredibly high pain tolerance, was also incredibly weak at the moment, not that that would last.

Still, it had been that fear-inducing, awe-inspiring, badass-to-the-extreme name (as well as the fact that the dragon hadn't been talking to their breasts the entire time, which was the final proof needed to convince everyone that Hyoudou Issei was dead and gone) that had scared the four she-devils into promising that their siscons for Maous wouldn't learn of his existence until he willed it to be. Well, there might have been a subtle threat included.

… Oh, who was he kidding? A threat dealing with the disintegration of about a dozen reincarnated bodies along with the rest of Kuou was as subtle as a hammer pounding someone's skull. He was a dragon, and a legendary one at that. When a former Maou could be flicked away like a paper football, nuances were a non-issue, even if he really didn't have the power to back it up at the current moment.

Still, at least those four had known who he was. He was a celebrity, if not a bit infamous. There was myths about lands laid to waste by a single breath of his. There was the whole "God shuddered and devils fled" spiel. How could anyone involved in anything with the supernatural not know how awesome he was?

"Um, so Ddraig-san is a dragon as well as a devil?"

… Apparently, if that someone had lived a sheltered life in some isolated church toiling away day and night healing anyone and everyone the Church could bring, then it was certainly possible.

Perhaps this should be better explained. One morning, after Ddraig and the rest of the Occult Research Club (of which he was an honorary member - there was no way a dragon would ever join some high school club if the position of club president was already taken) had politely shown a Stray Devil to death's door - they had offered her a chance at any last words, which in all accounts was rather kind of them - the boy-with-the-mind-of-a-dragon had literally stumbled upon an adorable blonde nun with no sense, both common and of direction. Well, Ddraig prefered to use the term "stumbled" - "knocked over in such a way that the laws of gravity were ignored and her long habit somehow rode all the way up to reveal white panties" were words that left a bad aftertaste. The dragon privately worried if somehow the brat had cursed him to live every pathetic fantasy that the boy ever even thought of. An eternity - or however long devils lived - of the cheap fanservice known as "harem antics" was not something the former Sacred Gear desired.

Anyways, though he had wanted to bid adieu as politely as possible (which would have consisted of a grunt; it was certainly rude, but dragons really didn't care about proper etiquette in the first place), something had made Ddraig take the blonde bundle of gentleness in. He could only assume it was because the girl named Asia Argento reminded him of a lost puppy. A lost, adorable little puppy who, once its stomach was properly filled, would be shoved out the door in a heartbeat, sent along on its way to find another sucker who fell for those horribly cute puppy eyes.

On a completely unrelated note, as a badass dragon who had casually made several battle-hungry idiots go insane out of either bloodlust or fright while merely in the form of a gauntlet, Ddraig would shamelessly albeit hurriedly deny any and all allegations of ever being a softie at heart.

Back to the issue at hand: it was rather unfortunate, but things hadn't gone according to the dragon's plan. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't shake the little nun off his tail. What hadn't occurred to the Welsh Dragon was that lost puppies, when properly fed, automatically felt a bond to the caregiver, even if the smell of a dog's mortal enemy proved the good Samaritan was in reality a cat person. Food was enough to buy any canine's loyalty, especially the young.

Such was the case with the blonde nun Asia Argento. While never really going hungry before, her meal plan as a Holy Maiden consisted of gruel, bread, and soup, with pasta as a treat every once in awhile. That cuisine wasn't very prevalent in Japan, so Ddraig figured taking her to a famous fast food joint would suffice. It turned out to be perfect for the girl, and horrible for the dragon. After enjoying her first ever hamburger (which she openly wondered how anybody could properly afford the delicacy - Ddraig chose not to inform the girl that it was a 100-yen sandwich that one could get nearly anywhere in the world), the girl had elected to follow the dragon around, showering him with gratitude and blessings from heaven, too air-headed to notice the wince he made every time she said "the Lord." Eventually, to ease what was starting to become a throbbing migraine, Ddraig revealed that he was a combination of everything that kept good little innocent nuns awake at night.

The girl brushed it off, too grateful for her own "Savior" to care.

"Sister, you do realize that, being a dragon as well as a devil, I'm practically the epitome of evil in that Bible of yours, right?"

"B~But the Lord said 'Love thy neighbor as thyself'!"

"Didn't that same God," retorted Ddraig, shaking off the pain that came with the sister quoting scripture, "end up making the earth open up to swallow a bunch of unbelievers?" The dragon would know - he'd pushed Apophis into that pit as a practical joke. Plus, the polite prick had been annoying him. One minute he would call Ddraig by his proper title of Emperor, and the next he was trying to secretly team up with ole Azi to take him down. The brat needed a lesson, and a hundred years climbing back to the surface seemed good enough. "And who said anything about me being your neighbor?"

"Ah, but, er… I know God loves Ddraig-san!"

If the girl wasn't as innocent as she looked, the dragon would have sworn she was giving him a migraine on purpose. "... You're seriously messed up, sister." He kept looking ahead, trying to ignore the awkward yet heartwarming smile that spread across the nun's face while also going over in his mind why he was even bothering allowing her to be in his presence. Had he gone soft after a few hundred years locked away in various arms? No, he had basically ignored the devils after his proper introduction, only deigning to grace them with his badassery every once in awhile, if it benefitted him - say, like beating up a helpless stray, for example. That had been good practice!

No, he was fairly certain his awesomeness level was still over nine thousand, even if his pathetic body made it only a fraction of what it had once been. It should have been impossible for the sister to be anywhere near him. Then why did she cling to him like he was a lifeline? And more importantly, why did he let her? … Oh well, it hardly even mattered - the minute she made it to that rundown church, the minute she was out of his life forever.

… Wait a minute… that church…

"Oi, sister, that church you're supposed to be at… isn't that the one under the control of a bunch of Fallen Angels?"

This time the girl's answer was just a look of complete and utter panic. No doubt she was worried that his opinion of her would drop for even consulting with the Grigori, let alone working for them. But considering how loving and charitable the girl seemed to be, she was probably desperate to do whatever she could to help, and the crows had probably convinced her that working for them would aid in her dream.

Hah. "Probably." Yeah right. Ddraig knew the truth - he'd had an unfortunate run-in with a Fallen a few weeks back. Well, unfortunate for the angel, that is. The dragon had learned that the crow - Donny, or something like that - was quite capable as a punching bag. It could almost be claimed as a talent. Well, long story short, the crow was a decent measuring stick on what Ddraig's limits were in the reincarnated human body at that time. It could only handle a few boosts, but that was more than enough to beat up a low-ranked Fallen Angel whose only trick involved light spears going on straight paths. The fight had lasted all of thirty seconds.

After that, it had become a simple game of Give-and-Take - Interrogation style. Donny the Angel had learned that the Red Emperor Dragon was back in a thousandth of his glory, while Ddraig had learned why a bunch of Watchers had decided to ignore a ceasefire and camped in devil territory. As anyone could imagine, the Fallen lost, aided by the fact that he was barely conscious through the whole ordeal. Ddraig really didn't want any big names to know that the Red Dragon of Domination had come back from the dead, especially mad scientists like the Governor-General of the Grigori who had an OCD to study anything related to Sacred Gears. So with no further use, Donny had to go.

Oddly enough, the Stray Devil the ORC had eradicated the night before Ddraig met Asia had eaten some kind of poultry for dinner only a few weeks before. The dragon found that to be quite the coincidence.

Glancing back at the nun, wondering why he was even bothering, the dragon heaved a sigh. "Er, you know those former angels are going to use you, right sister?" According to the late Donny, "using her" entailed killing her and then taking her Sacred Gear off her corpse, but Ddraig decided that sometimes tact was okay. He might have been a badass asshole, but even he knew that casually telling someone they were going to die and not by his hands was a jackass move.

"Y~Yes, but I… I will be of use! Someone needs me, and I'll be happy to help."

… Dammit. She had to say something that was pitiful but also tugged at the few heartstrings the dragon had. Where was all this fluffy feelings coming from? Ddraig was a dragon, dammit, and dragons never were fluffy! Begone, fluffy feelings!

"Er, Ddraig-san, are you okay?"

Shit, had that been out loud? Talk about embarrassing. Ugh, the White One would have a field day if he ever heard about this. A Heavenly Dragon getting flustered around a human girl. The world was most likely going to come to an end soon. "Er… fine. I'm fine." Still, it was surprising how easily this girl was getting to him. It was almost like she had this calming aura… Wait, was that it? Did she have an affinity for dragons? That was certainly intriguing.

"So, that's the only reason why you're working for Fallen Angels? That way of life seems awfully more associated with God than with his former messengers who turned their back on him."

"Ah yes, but, well, um…"

And then everything clicked with the dragon. A girl with the ability to heal anything. Her past life working at some abby, probably as a Holy Maiden. Her hesitance when talking about teaming up with Fallen Angels.

This girl was thrown away as trash by the very Church that had used her. And she was about to experience that all over again with her new employers. Someone with her talents and abilities was simply seen as nothing more as used goods.

And that made Ddraig very, very unhappy.

No, it was not because of something sappy like the girl had burrowed into his heart. It wasn't because her sob story had pricked his conscience. It wasn't because of any idealistic feeling whatsoever.

It was because she was something unique.

Now, Ddraig had lived, either as a giant dragon or as a Sacred Gear, for a long, long time. He'd seen people come and go, and there was one thing that was almost a constant among all those who held power: they were selfish. They saw their own ability, saw how amazing they were, and that made them think they were some hot shit. They took what they wanted, saw what they wanted, and did what they wanted, and all because, with their power, they could. Even the God of the Bible wasn't exempt - He saw how valuable Sacred Gears could be and gave them to mankind, just to see what could happen.

Ddraig was perfectly aware that he was no different - in fact, as a dragon, he could be considered an incarnation of selfishness. Had he not spent hundreds of years taking on the White One just to prove who was the stronger dragon? Yes, he was perfectly selfish, and he didn't give a damn about it.

Yet here was a girl with the ability to heal any and every wound. People flocked to her in hopes of seeing the miracle she was able to grant. She could have had people worshiping her as a goddess if she wished. Blind fanatics would willingly give their lives to preserve their Holy Maiden. Fear was a powerful tool for controlling people, but it was nothing compared to the love that she could have instilled in her followers. But instead, Asia Argento trudged along, only seeking to help anyone and everyone she could. She cared little for herself. She was unique. She was a treasure.

And dragons, the incarnations of selfishness, _never_ threw away treasure.

"Oi, sister," growled the dragon, breaking the silence. Fishing through his coat pockets, he found a small flyer bearing the Gremory crest, and quickly forced it in the nun's hands. "Take it, and if you ever need me, use it."

"But Ddraig-san! This~"

"~ is a magic circle, I know." Indeed, it was just like the one Hyoudou Issei had picked up on his fateful and fatal date. The five words that had breathed new life in the dragon were in the same font: _Your dream will come true!_

"B~But I can't! I have faith in the Lord! I can't summon a devil!"

"Is working with Fallen Angels any better?" That shut the nun up. The war had been with three factions, after all, and the Grigori were just as vilified as devils were by the Church. "Use it. Or don't. It's your choice. Just know that one badass dragon is only a call away."

That made the blonde nun blush a bit and she looked down, embarrassed. The dragon thought he heard her mumble "thank you," but didn't really care. Neither did he give a damn about her shy glances in his direction. It wasn't that difficult to figure out what was actually happening - a teenaged girl was getting help from a young man (even if he was really a dragon). It was probably the first time that she was on the receiving end of air. And that boy just so happened to promise to protect her. Blushing, shy glances. Ddraig snorted at the obvious signs. It looked like Asia Argento was starting to develop a crush on him. Great.

Whatever. She was just a lost little puppy to him - a treasure that he wanted for his own. Yet despite thinking that Asia Argento would probably get him in some trouble that he didn't want, there was one thought that brought a smile on his face. The dragon was sure somewhere the soul of Hyoudou Issei was currently cursing him for finding the blonde bishoujo of his dreams. Well, Hyoudou Issei could suck it.

* * *

The last few weeks had been quite stressful for the Gremory Clan heiress. There was the issue with her pawn, naturally. Rias hadn't known, but Sacred Gears, especially the upper-tier ones like Longini, had their own conscious. Ddraig had slowly and deliberately explained that most of them were born from legendary creatures and gods, or else were the product of natural disasters that could threaten the world. It was quite understandable that so much power was itching to get out of the cramped space of a Sacred Gear - and the Evil Pieces system actually gave them the chance to escape. She honestly should have known better. The entire time the dragon sat there, describing the process, she could only think of Gasper, her mutated Bishop, and why he was locked up securely above the ORC clubroom. Her Onii-sama must have known that reincarnating something with the power of a god within it would be dangerous. If he had told her why she should be more careful, then she might have reconsidered putting all eight of her pawns in the body of Hyoudou Issei.

… Oh, who was she kidding? The moment she realized how much potential the little pervert had, she had decided she'd have him, no matter the cost. Dammit, she sometimes wished she wasn't a devil; perhaps her life wouldn't have been run so much on those deadly sins if she wasn't one. And a lot of the times, those sins cost her. Greed was especially good at paying back with interest.

On top of the whole Hyoudou-Issei-became-Ddraig debacle - which she was still trying to fix, by the way, but the boy who claimed he was a dragon was not being as considerate as she would have liked - there were a bunch of Fallen Angels and stray exorcists who had set up camp at the nearby church. There was good reason why Rias was getting more and more nervous about them - while at first it seemed as if they were just a small outfit of fools not knowing their place, now they were growing to a level where it might be considered a threat on devil territory. It wasn't like she felt they could overrun the town, what with her and Sona, along with their peerages, there to wipe them off if they got a little too raudy. No, what worried her more was the potential of what a small border conflict could escalate to. She was, after all, the sister of the strongest of the Maou. It would be most shameful to her family and her Onii-sama if the Faction War restarted on her land.

It didn't help that the Fallen Angels were actually missing one of their best fighters. A little blonde angel had met with them under a white flag to discuss the disappearance of a certain Dohnaseek, who had been doing a patrol run before suddenly being wiped off the face of the map. Mittelt, whom Rias secretly wouldn't mind having as another member of her peerage (she was, in the redhead's opinion, one of the most adorable little things she'd come across), had believed them when they had admitted they hadn't seen a Fedora-wearing man in a trench coat… though the girl did admit she really didn't care, having gotten bad vibes from the male angel from the get-go.

To be perfectly honest, the buxom heiress had a gut-feeling that Ddraig was involved with that little skirmish. The fact that he never even went to class - that had been one of his demands on that first day; in his words: "What kind of dragon spends his day with a bunch of snot-nosed teenage brats?" - meant that she really couldn't keep an eye on him, so he could have gone and challenged any and all contenders to a one-on-one death match for all she knew. He was widely known as a battle freak, after all.

Fortunately, the previous night they had come across some black feathers while exterminating the stray devil Viser. The grotesque woman with a beast's body had even described eating a Fallen Angel, news that they had promptly reported to the rundown Church. According to Akeno, currently standing just behind her desk like normal, the angels had taken that at face value - evidently Dohnaseek was the type to seek out some fights, so him taking on something that was obviously stronger than him wasn't that much of a surprise. That information was filed for later, should the Fallen actually consider an attack on Kuou. If Dohnaseek, one of the best war assets to the little band gathering within her territory, had succumbed to someone her peerage had put down with ease, then these Fallen weren't as big of a threat as Rias had first assumed.

Still, it was best if they avoided any confrontation.

With that in mind, it was rather surprising to see the boy whom Rias suspected was the cause for the latest fiasco show up at the old school building, plopping himself down on the couch. Within seconds, both Akeno and her clung to his side, while Toujou Koneko, her adorable little Rook, found a nice comfortable seat on Ddraig's lap.

… Yes, the Occult Research Club was shamelessly using their bodies to try to convince the Red Emperor Dragon to stay on as Rias' Pawn. The two Kuou Onee-sama's knew full well that they were the ideal women for every single normal guy within the academy, and Koneko-chan, even though she obviously wasn't very comfortable sitting on the lap of the guy she had loathed just weeks prior, was the perfect loli. Surely a hot-blooded male their age, even if he had the mind of a thousand-year-old dragon, would find this situation too temp~

"Gremory," growled the dragon, "what the hell are you doing?"

And just like that, Operation "Seducing the Welsh Dragon" came to an abrupt end.

"Mou," Rias pouted - being turned down in such a nonchalant manner was quite the blow on her pride as a woman. "Ddraig-san, I only thought…" Yeah, she was at a loss of words. Looking back, it had been a horrible idea. This wasn't the first time she had tried to use her womanly wiles to ensnare her to him, and when that hadn't worked, she'd even tried using Yuuto-kun. Ddraig had responded that if she ever tried to get her swordsman to do anything like that again, then she'd be looking for a new Knight. Well, at least that time she learned that the dragon wasn't asexual - he had never threatened her or any of the other girls that violently after any of their attempts.

"Fufufu, looks like your idea that he'd be interested in our cute little kouhai didn't work, Buchou," giggled Akeno, looking completely amused at seeing another of her King's plans go down the dumpster. Her obvious hint was clearly picked up by the dragon, who rounded on the redhead with a hard glare. He wanted an explanation.

"Well, see~ You haven't shown any interest in me or Akeno, so we simply thought… you might like girls… smaller…"

"... Are you saying you thought I was a pedofile?"

"... Jerk," muttered the white-haired loli from where she sat, trying to enjoy her snacks. The retort was not effective.

"Yeah, well when you take on God, a legion of angels, and armies of devils all at the same time, you get the privilege of being one, kitty-cat."

Rias had to hold back a chuckle as a small hiss escaped her cute little Rook's lips. "I'm sorry. It just seemed like you were most interested about her when I introduced you to the rest of my peerage."

Ddraig simply rolled his eyes. "Typical females - show interest in anything remotely feminine, and they automatically assume you're in love."

"Ara ara, personal experience, Ddraig-sama?"

"Please, I'm a dragon emperor. I could have had women groveling at my feet if I wanted," replied the dragon with as much of a poker face as he could muster.

The great Welsh Dragon wasn't fooling anyone. No, it was rather obvious he had had woman problems in the past, and Rias almost laughed at experiencing for the first time a flustered Red Dragon Emperor. Oh, that was intriguing - perhaps that could unlock a clue as how to gain Ddraig's allegiance without bowing before him and pledging their eternal loyalty. Not that she would consider asking the dragon about that. There was still that threat of wiping Kuou off the face of the Earth in play, and she would rather stay clueless than have everything literally blow up in her face.

"I … apologize for my judgment, Ddraig-s~sama," stuttered the redhaired beauty, having trouble putting a suffix of respect at the end of her own Pawn's name. He'd been quite clear that it would either be "sama" or no suffix at all - but hinted that he outranked her, thanks to being an Emperor. "Please forgive me."

"... Whatever," muttered the dragon. Rias watched as the dragon seemed like he was debating with himself over something. For such an old being, Ddraig really didn't hide his emotions very well. It probably was due to the fact that, in his prime, no one could do anything against him. Finally seeing some resolution behind his eyes, she waited patiently to hear what the dragon with years of experience could advice. "You should make the cat learn her own powers, Gremory. She has the potential to be a nightmare for any reincarnated devil."

"Really?" That did sound useful. Even Koneko-chan, who hated her own powers more than perverts, looked up, a hint of terrified interest flashing on what usually was a completely stoic face. That brought a small smile to the Gremory heiress' face - a cat being curious. How funny!

But her Pawn in nothing but Evil Pieces wasn't finished yet. "Same with the crow here," replied Ddraig with a small nod in Akeno's direction. Unlike Koneko-chan, who looked curious while at the same time mortified, Akeno's eyes gleamed with anger, and without a word the half-Fallen stormed out of the room.

Rias could only sigh. She knew why Ddraig had been so careless - he'd killed hundreds of black-winged angels in his prime - but she still wished he could show a little bit of tact. "I'd appreciate it, Ddraig-sama, if you avoided insulting my peerage in their faces."

"And I'd appreciate it, Gremory, if they didn't hide behind a mask, but we both know that's not going to happen. At least the cat shows no emotions. One look at her and you know she's hiding something, and that you can respect. But acting like you're somebody else? Pathetic."

"They've had hard lives~"

"And I was stuck in a pervert's left hand for seventeen years. And a ton of other hands before that. I've had a sucky life too, if you hadn't noticed, but you don't see me wallowing in the past." The dragon huffed out an annoyed sigh, making Rias wonder what brought this up. "Hell, even that girl was moving forward, even though the rest of the world had turned their backs on her… ah, hell, Gremory. I think I'm going soft. I blame you for it."

"W~What?" This was a sudden change of pace. Where was all this… emotion coming from? She'd known that Ddraig could be rather passionate, especially when it came to his own self (actually, now that she thought about it, only when it came to himself), but this… if she had to say anything, it was kind of cute.

"Oi, kitty-cat, what's that stuff that your type goes nuts over? Catmeg? Catsley?"

"... Catnip," muttered the nekomata with a slight blush on her face. Her King recalled a time when Koneko-chan had stumbled across some of the stuff in a department store. It had been… amusing, to say the least.

"Yeah, that. I met a girl today, and she's literally catnip for dragons." The dragon rolled his eyes in exasperation - obviously he wasn't too pleased with the situation. "So yeah, I'll probably be saving her from that Fallen Angel group sometime, so be ready for back-up."

"WHAT?!" Rias quickly got up, shocked by how callous he was. This was blatantly against the ceasefire that was keeping all the devils alive at the moment. "You can't just go and attack a bunch of Fallen Angels without a just cause! We're currently at peace time."

"Don't worry, they're not working with the Grigori," waved the dragon off.

"How do you know that?!"

"Ah, met one of them. Donny or Danielle or something like that. Ugly guy in a trench coat and a fedora."

"Dohnaseek?"

"Yeah. Honestly I thought the guy was a pervert about to flash me or something. Anyway, he told me everything before I fed him to that stray devil from last night."

"You killed a Fallen Angel and fed him to Viser?" This was seriously giving the redhead a massive headache. Ddraig had basically just admitted to aiding and abetting a stray devil. That was practically as bad as treason. Then again, he had helped in killing the devil… Ugh, why, why was the dragon being so difficult? It was like he just did what he... felt… like. Dammit, she forgot - _again_ \- how selfish dragons were. "I know it's pointless to ask, but could you please come to me before you start doing things that could label yourself as a stray devil?"

"... No." Oh, well, Rias had asked. And it wasn't like she could do anything about it - he was the Red Emperor Dragon. "Anyways, I got Donny~"

"Dohnaseek."

"Yeah, him. I got Donny to sing like a bird." A quiet chuckle from the corner reminded them that Koneko was still there. Rias still found it kind of funny how the stoic girl could actually laugh at times while still showing no emotion. "He went on how the crows were working by themselves, without their superiors' knowledge, and how they're going to kill this girl for her Sacred Gear. Honestly, if she didn't have this dragon affinity I could care less, but, well…"

"You do realize that those Fallen Angels came to us to ask about him, don't you?"

"Don't care." The redhead almost facefaulted at that reply. If the dragon hadn't been such an asshole up to now, she was sure her forehead would be wearing a nice mark from slamming against the desk. "I just came to tell you that I'm going to grab the girl sometime. I doubt I'll need your help, but maybe it'd be good to have back-up once in awhile."

"... Why do you want the girl?" That was the part that made the Gremory heiress confused. She wasn't stupid - she knew that Ddraig didn't want her brother to find out about his revival yet. She was fairly certain that he was busy trying to regain his old strength - the only reason why Sona and she hadn't reached out to their Maou siblings was simply because they weren't sure how much power the Red Dragon Emperor had right now. The devil kings did not want to risk their peerages for something that wasn't acting as a threat at the moment.

But should he go through with this rescue plan of his, then questions would start popping up. And while devils were good on finding answers, the Fallen Angels were absolute geniuses. Ddraig's identity would be revealed incredibly quickly. And she was sure the dragon had figured that out already.

"It's because I want her," growled the boy who once was Hyoudou Issei - him growling still unnerved the devil princess. "Listen, Gremory, because I'm saying this just once - dragons do what they want, and they don't give two shits about what others think. You were the one who revived me without realizing just what mess you were getting into, and now you have to deal with it. I've told you already - an Emperor does not bow to a King. You can do all the seduction you and your pretty little servants want to, but in the end, it won't matter. I'm not your Pawn - you are mine."

"But I put you on the board!"

"Funny thing about chess, Gremory - it's not realistic. Most kings don't worry about the other color; no, they're far more concerned about the ambitious 'pawns' in their ranks. Those who do everything to 'promote,' per say, because one day, they may just start thinking of promoting themselves to a king." Then came that grin - the same predatory grin from the first time Rias had met Ddraig. And just like that first time, she felt fear. This was not a being to trifle with. But despite that feeling gripping her heart, the next words the boy spoke surprised her. "Luckily for you, Gremory, I'm not too interested in becoming a 'King.' And also luckily for you, you happen to be an ambitious little pawn. It all depends on what you're willing to do to get promoted."

With those ominous words, the dragon got out of the room, leaving behind a devil heiress going over his words. What was he implying? Had Ddraig perhaps offered an olive branch? A means to accomplish any dream she herself wished fulfilled?

"...Buchou?"

"Koneko, you cannot mention this conversation to anyone." Rias watched as her most quiet servant nodded hesitantly. The nekoshou was perhaps her most trustworthy when it came to keeping secrets. It helped that she was naturally secretive in the first place.

"... Buchou, will we help Ddraig-san?"

"Only if he needs it," murmured the King, knowing full well he probably didn't. "... What did you think about him, Koneko? Do you think he'll betray us?"

The white-haired loli shrugged. "... He'll do what he'll want to."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"... Dragons can be scary devils." That, Rias thought, was the understatement of the century.

* * *

Hello. Thanks for the responses! Just a little heads up - I made Rias Gremory a main character in the description, but there will not be any romance between her and Ddraig. Instead, they'll be using each other to further their own goals. This chapter also introduced Asia Argento, but she probably won't be a romance option, either. In fact, I'm not even sure if there's going to be any romance option for Ddraig. Hopefully that doesn't turn off any readers, but if it does, I'm sorry.

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